Education Next is a journal of opinion and research about education policy.

Have Reformers Won the War of Ideas?

Ed Next editors Mike Petrilli and Chester E. Finn, Jr. debate whether the war has been won and what needs to happen next.

Chester E. Finn, Jr. argues that the war has not yet been won, that there have been advances but a lot of pushback, and a lot of heavy lifting still to be done. Mike Petrilli argues that the war of ideas has been won, that fringe reform ideas have gone mainstream, but that reformers may be pushing the ideas in a direction that may not be productive. Should reformers be more worried about the education establishment or about their own allies?